The beautiful Marches of Ascoli Piceno and Offida

The Marches (or in Italian Le Marche) are becoming increasingly popular among Northern European tourists. Dutch and Flemish people also like to visit this region in central Italy with its Adriatic beaches, lovely hilly landscape and delicious food and drinks.

And of course the many towns and villages that have preserved their medieval centers almost unscathed and where it is a lot quieter, especially in early and late season, than in the classic Italian top destinations. Like in Ascoli Piceno en Offida with their beautiful sights.

Ascoli Piceno: older than Rome

Ascoli Piceno, a town of just under 50.000 inhabitants, 25 kilometers from the coast, owes its name to the Picenia, the people who ruled here before the Romans in the third century BC. took over the estate.

Ascoli is therefore older than Rome itself, as every guide readily states, but not much has survived from the classical period. Apart from the Porta Romana, one of the ancient gateways to the city, and the Roman bridge over the Tronto, the river that winds around the old town.

Ancient Ascoli is a well-preserved gem from the city's medieval heyday that grew rich as a center of textile industry. You can still taste that past glory when you stroll through the narrow medieval streets – which, just like in Venice, street -, past impressive patrician houses, dozens of churches and high defensive towers that were once the status symbol of wealthy families and that still dominate Ascoli's skyline today.

What is especially striking is the clear white of the travertine in which almost the entire old center has been built. This makes Ascoli one of those Italian 'white cities under azure skies', which Louis Couperus already raved about a century ago. (Couperus' presumed lover Giulio Lodomez, who figures in his work as Orlando, lived in Ascoli by the way, but that aside.)

Piazza Arringo and Piazza del Popolo

The main streets lead to two squares that are Ascoli's tourist card: Piazza Arringo and Piazza del Popolo. At the first, where medieval people's tribunes give their speeches (speeches), is the Cattedrale di Sant'Emidio, an originally Romanesque building, in front of which a rectangular façade was pasted during the Renaissance.

The interior of the cathedral does not look very special, but in a side chapel there is a beautiful ten-part altarpiece dedicated to the patron saint and a rare Byzantine wooden crucifix from around the year 1000 with now not a suffering but a triumphant Christ.

The almost thousand-year-old crypt under the bottom of the cathedral is also fascinating. Some of the arches here have yet to be supported by wooden pickets as a result of the severe earthquake that ravaged central Italy on August 24, 2016.

The epicenter was not far from Ascoli, but the city got away without much damage. Undoubtedly because the cathedral is dedicated to St. Emygidius, who is considered a protector against earthquakes.

Next to it is the Battistero, the baptismal font, a beautiful octagonal monument from the 11^e century, which fortunately has remained free of baroque frills and therefore has a more authentic medieval appearance than the cathedral. 

On the beautifully rectangular Piazza del Popolo are the Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo, the elected medieval city administrators, and the Chiesa di San Francesco: so were here in the 14^e century of temporal and spiritual power concentrated side by side.

Meletti coffee

Now it's mostly Ascoli's open-air salon, with cafes, restaurants and terraces occupying much of the square. The most beautiful is the Caffè Meletti, which opened in 1907 in the then popular Jugendstil (or as the Italians say, liberty style) and where not much has changed since then.

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A classic brown café, where one of the typical products of Ascoli is served: the Anisetta Meletti. This super sweet aniseed liqueur has a finer taste than the much more famous Sambuca, so that you can make a tasty taste with a dash in the espresso. caffe corretto makes with. Some ascolani already do that at 10 o'clock on Sunday morning, as I was able to observe at the counter of Caffè Meletti.

Olives

The other regional product par excellence are the olive ascolane. These large green olives are pitted, stuffed with a mixture of ground meat, egg, flour, vegetables and spices, then breaded and deep fried. They are for sale everywhere in the city center, in the restaurant or on the street in the cone.

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You can also get them elsewhere in Italy, but – really! – nowhere do they taste as good as in Ascoli Piceno itself. The real Ascoli olives must come from the olive of the same name, which is about the size of a quail's egg, has a soft taste and firm flesh, and is grown only in the Ascoli area.

For industrially produced stuffed olives (which are officially not ascolane may be called) usually other varieties are used, which are less large and juicy. If you want to taste the original Ascolan specialty, check if it is indeed the Oliva Ascolana del Piceno is. Or come to Ascoli yourself.

Quintana

Two days a year – in 2020 that will be July 11 and August 2 – Ascoli becomes completely medieval again. Those are the days of the Quintana, a colorful city festival with historical parades, flag swings and knight tournaments. 

If you want to become even more immersed in tradition, you can also eat and sleep in a medieval atmosphere in the palaces of what were once the city's two most powerful families, in Ristorante Le Scuderie in Palazzo Malaspina and in Guiderocchi Palace, which has now been transformed into a comfortable hotel.

Want to know more about the sights, shops, restaurants and sights in Ascoli Piceno? Download the city map below as a PDF.

Offida

20 kilometers from Ascoli is Offida, a town of barely 5.000 inhabitants that most Italians have never heard of, but which, as so often in the Italian province, offers unexpected attractions.

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Lace-making women

Upon entering, you are welcomed in front of the city wall by a sculpture of three generations of lace-making women. The ancient craft is still practiced in Offida and is the last vestige of the textile industry that once formed the wealth of the region. The small town museum is therefore largely devoted to the history of lace.

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Santa Maria della Rocca

The town hall, which is huge for this town, dates from the 13^e all 15^e century and features graceful arches and battlements. But the most beautiful thing that Offida has to offer, just outside the center, is the church of Santa Maria della Rocca, which is indeed built on a solid rock and was therefore practically impregnable in the turbulent times when Offida had to take sides in the constant battles between Ascoli and Fermo, which is closer to the coast.

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The unapproachably towering Romanesque-Gothic Almshouse is brightened up on the inside by bright frescoes, some of which are still well preserved. Under the apse is a cozy crypt and here too wooden reinforcements were added after the earthquake of 2016.

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Wines from Offida

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Offida is also known for its wines. The local white Pecorino and Passerina and the Rosso Marche, mainly made from the Montepulciono grape, of Offida are also renowned outside Italy.

Justly: seeing is believing! 

Do you want to go to De Marken yourself?

Do you want to discover the beautiful Marken (Le Marche) yourself? Good idea. You will find many accommodation options here. Check out this article for the most beautiful campsites in De Marken.

Would you rather look for a holiday home or hotel? View the options and prices here.